


Feelings on paper

by askclato



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Co-workers, Cute, Denial of Feelings, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, I Blame Tumblr, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Idiots in Love, M/M, Meet-Cute, Office, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:42:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27733246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askclato/pseuds/askclato
Summary: A Victor's office au. When Katniss Everdeen starts working at office Panem, she never expected it to be like this. Especially when a blonde haired, blue eyed co-worker is involved.
Relationships: Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair, Beetee Latier/Wiress, Brutus/Gloss (Hunger Games), Cato/Clove (Hunger Games), Enobaria/Johanna Mason, Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	1. New Beginnings

Katniss Everdeen hurridly grabbed her fraying purse and slammed the car door shut, probably with much more force than needed. She gave herself one last look in the car door windows which was difficult because they desperately needed a clean, smoothed down her outfit, waved goodbye to her sister Prim and walked up to the huge building. It reminded her of something in Roman times with its big pillars and intimidating appearance. Katniss walked through the revolving door into a waiting room. She almost didn't dare to even sit, not wanting to interrupt the silence of the place. Luckily she didn't get a chance to sit because a person sitting at reception called her over with a friendly smile. Swallowing nerves, Katniss walked up to the woman and smiled back at her. She had a welcoming, kind face with beautiful black skin and her hair was done up in a lovely hairdo on the top of her head like a crown. 

'How may I help you?'

'Um.. my name is Katniss Everdeen. I have a job interview with..'

She looked down to check the name on her card.

'Enobaria Galpon.'

The woman nodded and stood.

Katniss swallowed nerves and followed the woman through an array of corridors, hearing her shoes clink on the floor at every step. She had never been this scared in her entire life. She really needed this job if she was going to help her mother support her younger sister, Prim. Her mom worked night shifts at a small hospital in their tiny town, but the bills were killing them. Katniss was lucky to have heard of this job, and she wasn't one to shy away from opportunities. Company Panem worked in computer technology and design, and if Katniss got the job she would manage to get her sister's university fees sorted. Katniss was 23 and her sister Prim was 19. She was meant to have started University a year ago, but they hadn't had the money then. This job wasn't exactly Katniss' forté, but for Prim she would do anything. Ever since they had lost their father in a mine accident when Katniss was just 12 money had been tight. 

After what seemed like hours of walking through passages they arrived at a door to what Katniss suspected was Enobaria's office. The woman knocked on the door.

'Enobaria? I have a Miss Katniss Everdeen here for a job interview.'

'Thank you, Seeder. Send her in.'

Seeder gave Katniss a warm smile as encouragement as Katniss opened the door. A woman was sitting at a desk shuffling papers. She looked like she was in her late twenties to early thirties. Her hair was brown and in a tight ponytail to stop it getting in the way as she worked. Her skin was a creamy caramel colour, just a tiny bit lighter than Katniss', and her face was set in an expression that made Katniss know immediately that Enobaria Galpon wasn't someone to be messed with. 

Enobaria finished shuffling her papers and looked up at Katniss. To Katniss' surprise Enobaria offered a smile and a hand. 

'Hi, Katniss. It's good to meet you. My name is Enobaria Galpon. I am the niece of Coriolonus Snow, who owns Company Panem, and I am in charge of this department. I understand you are looking for a job?'

Katniss nodded her head as Enobaria continued. 

'You have a fantastic resume, Miss Everdeen. If you don't mind we will conduct the question part of the interview in here.'

Katniss answered every question with manners and dignity, and surprised herself by sailing through the interview. Normally she wasn't very good at these things. Just as the interview finished and they were standing up they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

'I'm so sorry, Katniss. I specifically stated we were not to be disturbed. It's probably Haymitch, let me answer.'

An irritated Enobaria opened the door and Katniss saw a man standing there, looking around the same age as Enobaria, possibly a bit older. He had sandy blonde hair messily displayed around his face and he appeared to be just as irritated as Enobaria.

'Haymitch. What on earth do you want? I'm conducting an interview as I already stated, multiple times I might add, this morning. Can't it wait?'

Haymitch scowled.

'No, sweetheart, it can't wait. The liquor supply in Finnick and my office has run out and I happen to know that you have a very good supply. May I borrow-

Enobaria cut him off.

'No, you may not. It's not my fault that your liquor supply has run out, and I guarantee that it wasn't because of Finnick. Go and harass Johanna while I finish up here.'

With that Enobaria shut the door and turned back to Katniss.

'That's Haymitch Abernathy. He's been working here as long as I remember, mostly does construction though, but still helps us out a bit. He's a drunk but he's alright. You'll get used to him.'

You'll get used to him? Does that mean she already had the job? The confusion must have shown on Katniss' face because Enobaria smiled at her again.

'Katniss, you have a fantastic resume and a wonderful attitude. I could really use someone like you in this department. You're hired, if you want the job.'

Katniss resisted the urge to squeal or hug Enobaria or both. Instead she made a strange noise in the back of her throat and tried to keep her cool.

'Thank you so much, truly. This opportunity means so much to me, Miss Galpon.'

'Oh, call me Enobaria, Katniss. As intimidating and formal as this building may look on the outside we are all amazing friends. Well, most of us at least. Now, if you are tired and need to go home of course you are permitted to do that, but if you wanted to stay and meet your co-worker's, you can.'

Katniss decided to stay. She wanted to see as much of this place and meet as many new people as possible. Enobaria took a few minutes to gather up her papers and place them in her folder before she ushered Katniss out of her office into another corridor. Katniss could hear people talking, the sound of coffee machines and the sound of heels walking importantly down the halls. It certainly seems formal, she thought. But if there was anything Katniss had learnt it was to not judge a book by its cover. She suspected there was a lot more to company Panem that meets the eye.

Firstly Enobaria went to Haymitch's office to introduce her properly. Haymitch was nice enough, she thought. Katniss suspected he wasn't a man she could get to know in one sitting. She would have to peel back layers, like an onion.  
While they were in Haymitch's office Katniss also met the other guy Haymitch shared his office with: Finnick Odair. Finnick was one of those charming guys like you saw in Calvin Klein ads. He was blonde, blue eyed and very friendly, perhaps a bit too friendly. But Enobaria said he just did it to mess with newcomers. Finnick seemed like a fun, party-loving guy with an unhealthy obsession with sugar cubes.

They moved on to the office next to Finnick and Haymitch's. This office had a very different energy, Katniss mused. This office was neat and tidy, and everything seemed to have its place. Two girls were sitting opposite one another backs turned, clearly working very hard on something. Enobaria rolled her eyes and whispered to Katniss:

'Annie and Finch, but everyone calls her Foxface. She's the nerd of the company and possibly the only one who actually gets any work done. Annie's her best friend and office partner. She's very dedicated and loyal, I think you two will get along well. Now watch this.'

Muffling giggles, Enobaria walked into the middle of the room where the girls were still working hard. They hadn't even noticed Katniss and Enobaria come in, even when they shurt the door. Enobaria suddenly yelled loudly and Foxface jumped so much she knocked over her stationary which had been neatly placed on the desk. After putting it back she turned on Enobaria, fuming.

'Enobaria! I was nearly finished that part of the project! I can't believe you interrupted us, we almost had it!'

Enobaria was doubled over, clutching her side as she laughed. Neither Annie nor Foxface seemed to see anything even remotely amusing about the situation. Annie spoke next.

'Really, Eno, you could have warned us! Foxface's right, we nearly finished the idea and then we were going to give it to Beetee to attach to the Do-

Annie stopped talking as she saw Katniss. Her eyes widened for a minute before she started apologising profusely.

'I'm so sorry! I didn't notice anyone else had come in! I thought it was just Enobaria come to yell at us again. Annie Cresta, it's very nice to meet you.'

Katniss smiled at the shy girl and shook her hand. Foxface apologised too before shaking her hand as well. They exchanged a few words before the girls went back to work and Katniss and Enobaria went on their way.

Over the next hour Katniss was introduced to Beetee, a middle aged man who was a genius at technology, Wiress, around the same age as Beetee who seemed to be strange but very likable, Effie Trinket, a woman who carried the most ridiculous hairstyle Katniss had ever seen as was currently seen yelling at Haymitch to stop going into her fridge and stealing her 'fresh spirits', Cashmere and Gloss, twin brother and sister whom Katniss held an instant dislike, Brutus, Enobaria's best friend and a girl around Katniss' age called Johanna Mason whom had at that moment decided to have a wrestling match with Finnick and was knocking things over left right and centre. Enobaria didn't seem to be remotely worried about the chaos, merely rolling her eyes and muttering some choice words under her breath. Katniss' foot suddenly caught onto something and she toppled over. Suddenly she felt a hand on her back and someone was holding her up. Katniss looked up to thank them, and found her words stuck at the back of her throat, instead staring up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen.


	2. Blue eyes

She didn't know how long she'd been standing there staring at this mysterious stranger who had just saved her from falling down and completely embarrassing herself on the first day. She had looked up to thank this stranger but she still hadn't said anything. The first word Katniss would use to describe his eyes apart from blue would be mesmerising. The were a bright sky blue with sparkles that she could get lost in. His hair was blonde and his hand soft and warm around her slightly smaller one. The stranger broke the silence before she could.

'Are you alright?'

Katniss wasn't too surprised to learn that his voice fit his soft, slightly childish face. It was a light, peaceful sound and she could definitely get used to hearing it again. 

'I.. I'm alright, thanks to you.'

To save herself further embarrassment Katniss stood up and reluctantly let go of the strangers hand. A cold feeling spread through her body as soon as she did so. She smoothed a now warm hand down her dress and tried to regain her composure.

'Peeta Mellark, it's a pleasure to meet you.'

Ugh. Of course he also had to be polite and have a wonderful taste in clothes. Katniss hated dressing fancy, already uncomfortable in the bright blue dress her mom had leant her for the interview. She had rejected the matching shoes though, thinking that was taking the fairytale costume a little too far. Katniss normally just wore her firm but supple leather boots, but today she had changed into some smart black work flats. She despised heels. 

Peeta was wearing a nice pale blue button down shirt with jeans, nothing too fancy or over the top. She liked it.

'I'm Katniss Everdeen. I'm new here, just arrived today.'

'Really? That's a relief. I'm new too, if it wasn't for my uncle I doubt I would've gotten the job.'

Katniss' eyebrows shot up in surprise as the surveyed the office and tried to guess who Peeta's uncle was.

'I'm sure you've met Haymitch. Well, he's my uncle. He's been working in construction here for about six years. I suspect he pulled a few strings to get me in here, although he's never said it outright.'

'Wow. I had no idea Haymitch was your uncle. I never would've guessed, either, you seem so different. I guess family can be different, though. I look nothing like my mom or my little sister, Prim. My mother is from California. She met my father on a university trip. He's from North America but we moved to California when I was five. My sister got my mom's looks, and I got my dad's.'

Peeta smiled again.

'Wow, that's so cool! My family's pretty boring, compared to yours. All born and raised here, including my parents.'

'How many siblings do you have?'

Normally Katniss hated small conversation, but she actually enjoyed talking to Peeta and wanted to learn more about him.

'I'm one of eight. Crazy, huh? Is Prim your only sibling?'

'Yeah. I can't imagine having eight siblings. Although I guess if it was eight Prim's that'd be alright. Prim's a sweetheart. My best friend Gale is one of four, though, and his house is complete chaos.'

They shared a laugh before Katniss noticed everyone was staring before Enobaria shood them away. Haymitch came over to Peeta and Katniss, swinging an arm around Peeta's shoulder.

'Hey, sweetheart. Getting to know my nephew, are you?'

Katniss grinned.

'Yeah. We were just talking about families, mostly. Peeta mentioned you got him the job here.'

Haymitch shrugged.

'You could say that, although I wouldn't have been able to do it if Peeta had the wrong personality. But luckily there's no need to worry about that at all. Peeta knows his stuff, he does. Wins everyone over easy, like.'

Katniss smiled.

'I can tell.'

Haymitch looked between them.

'I see. Winning you over already, huh? Well, he's a good kid. You could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve that boy.'

Katniss blushed and looked to the ground as Peeta spluttered.

'Haymitch! I don't know where you got that from! Katniss and I were just talking, and anyway, I'm sure she'd be more than worthy for my affections!'

Haymitch put his hands up in defeat.

'Ok, ok. Don't get crabby, I was just saying.'

He started to walk away before turning back to Katniss.

'Nice dress, by the way. Not yours,' he said, turning to Effie who had just walked in the room.

She glared in his direction and flounced out again in a huff. Haymitch grinned at them and walked out of the room too.

Peeta smirked at her and took no time in informing her Haymitch and Effie's history. They had met at the company six years ago when Haymitch first started working here, and took an instant dislike to each other at first. Haymitch hated Effie's obsessive ways and perfect mannerisms, and Effie hated Haymitch's... everything. But they had to get along sooner or later or else it would be a very awkward and uncomfortable time. Peeta didn't know how, but it seemed to happen naturally. They stopped complaining about each other so much and started working together to make the company the best ever. Everyone knew they had a sort of friends-with-benefits thing going on, it's not like it was very secret at all. In fact, it was so badly hidden that Peeta sometimes wondered if they even bothered hiding it.

\--

When lunch was called, Peeta tried to get a seat by Katniss but ended up sitting next to Finnick instead. Luckily Effie hadn't made seating plans. He wasn't upset at sitting next to Finnick, quite the opposite in fact. Ever since Peeta had come to the company Finnick had made him feel welcome and included him in everything. Behind his facãde Peeta knew Finnick was a great man. He commended his choice in women, too. Annie was good for Finnick, she mellowed him out and made him more grounded. They balanced each other out well. Peeta sat with them and tried to participate in the conversation but instead found his eyes straying to Katniss' table where she was sitting with Wiress and Beetee. They were talking to her in animated tones and Katniss actually seemed interested in what they were saying. 

It was by complete coincidence that Peeta was walking past when he caught Katniss but he was very glad he did catch her. She was the most beautiful person Peeta had ever seen in his life. Her caramel skin matched her grey eyes perfectly and even seemed to make them more apparent. Her brown hair contrasted well with her skin and flowed in natural waves over her shoulders. But more than just her looks, Peeta was attracted to her bluntness. She said things with feeling, and didn't speak unless she had something to say, which Peeta admired. He was sick of girls just throwing themselves at him, making mindless conversation that progressed awkwardly and didn't make sense, but he already knew he didn't have to worry about that with Katniss. He also loved her smile, which was seldom seen but somehow that made it even more special when it did appear. So yeah, he was looking forward to working with Katniss and getting to know her better.

\--

After lunch Peeta brought out cupcakes to everyone. There were many oohs and aahs at Peeta's frosting work, and Katniss had to admit it was impeccably done. Not surprising after what Enobaria told her:

'He's a baker,' she had said. 'His family owns a small bakery in town called 'Mellark's bakery'. Although it's small, it's popular.'

Katniss allowed everyone else to take a cupcake before eagerly stepping up to grab a treat herself. She held the cake delicately before bringing it up to her lips to take a bite. 

She had died. She had died and gone to Heaven, she was sure of it. There was no where else she could get such an amazing taste. The flavour seemed to jump up out of the cake and surround her head in a halo of colours, textures and scents. At least that's what it felt like to Katniss when she took a bite and a sweet filling she quickly realised was raspberry burst out onto her tongue. She resisted the urge to inhale the rest of it but she managed to take it slowly until the cupcake was all eaten. She licked her lips and went to thank Peeta for the cupcake. 

Great. He was a baker as well. Katniss had incredibly high standards, but so far Peeta was meeting all of her standards. When he smiled at her again she felt her stomach do a loop. Yep, she was fucked.

Enobaria came to her soon after dessert to check in.

'How are you settling in here, Katniss?'

Katniss grinned at her.

'I think I'm gonna like it here.'


	3. The newbies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Cato and Clove! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in ages, here's a new chapter, hope you like it! Comments and kudos would be appreciated, and if you have any ideas please let me know in the comments and on tumblr.  
> -Bec

It was safe to say that Katniss absolutely adored working at Company Panem. She loved the people and the laughs and how close everyone was. She loved seeing her gorgeous co-worker Peeta everyday and eating his home made goods when he bought them in (which was often). She loved her office with its beautiful view overlooking the lush green forest on the outskirts of the town. And she loved the paychecks. She loved the freedom of earning her own money, being able to pay when her and Madge went to the club on Friday nights, or when her and Gale went to their favourite restaurant The Hob. She loved all of these things, but the thing she loved most was seeing her sister's face as she walked in the door after her first day of college. All Katniss ever wanted was for Prim to have the experiences that Katniss was unable to have growing up. And better late than never. When Prim got home from her first day of college, Katniss and her mother had made a feast. They got strawberries and cream, a delicious fish stew and milk from Prim's goat Lady. They set it out on the table and listened as Prim gushed about her first day.

'I made such amazing friends, Katniss! I'm usually so shy, but everyone was so welcoming and lovely. There's this girl in my art class called Rue, she's so cool! She's such a good painter, and you should have seen her on the rock climbing wall! She moves so fast along it I could hardly see her. And I'm in the same class as Rory, which is so awesome!'

Katniss laughed.

'Sounds like you had a great first day, little duck. No tests or anything?'

Prim shrugged.

'Eh, a few, just to see what we already knew and stuff, but nothing too annoying. I didn't find it at all hard.'

\--

Katniss left for the office the next morning at 8 am sharp. She hitched a ride with Madge, her best girl friend. Madge's dad was in politics, and she liked to rebel a bit. Katniss liked her loyal and kind nature, and she also liked how Madge could easily stand up for herself. Madge Undersee was a beautiful girl, blonde wavy hair, fair skin and blue eyes. She was every guy's dream, but Madge didn't like the attention she got. She was trying to find the right guy.

'You should meet my best friend, Gale. I think you two would get along well,' Katniss said that morning. 

She'd been doing a lot of thinking, and she honestly thought that Gale could use someone like Madge. Katniss knew absolutely nothing about romance, but she knew a lot about Gale, and she thought that Gale and Madge would work well together. Madge would soften Gale's naturally hard and brusque nature, and Gale would bring out more of Madge's bad side. 

Madge laughed. 

'Is he cute?'

'Aha, I guess so. We dated back in highschool, but we quickly learned that we were just meant to be friends. I think you two would work well.

Madge grinned.

'Well, you should bring him by the office sometime. I could even travel from my work for the occasion.'

Hm, thought Katniss. That's not a bad idea.

\--

When they arrived Enobaria ushered them all into the central building. That was strange, Katniss thought. Normally Enobaria just said good morning then let them get on with their work. Enobaria didn't keep them waiting for long, though. She walked out of the room and soon returned with two people Katniss had never seen in her life.

'Please listen up, everyone. This is Clove, and this is Cato. Clove is my niece and Cato is Brutus' nephew. They will be joining this department, and I hope you will all make them feel welcome.'

Katniss took a good look at the two new recruits. Clove had long dark brown hair which was currently let loose down her back. Her face was set in a hard line, almost as if she was sizing everyone up, which, Katniss thought, she probably was. Her eyes were dark green and she had long black lashes. She had a few freckles around her nose and she looked like she was frowning. Her arms were crossed over her chest almost defensively, and Katniss immediately wanted to know more about her.

Cato, however, was obviously the jock, pretty boy type like you saw in those Calvin Klein ads. Definitely not the sort of guy Katniss was interested in, but she could see how girls could fall for him. Cato had smooth bronze skin, almost golden, that matched his blonde hair. His hair was messily displayed around his head, and as he pushed it out of his eyes Katniss heard some of the girls audibly sigh. Clove met her eye and rolled her eyes and Katniss stifled a giggle. Yep, she could definitely get used to Clove. 

Katniss could tell that Cato worked out, what, with his strong arms and clear abs. He also caught her eye and winked, making Katniss look away in disgust. Glimmer, however, was trying her best to get him to notice her. Glimmer and Marvel had come during the week, and Katniss had taken an instant dislike to them. Glimmer was Gloss' daughter and Cashmere's niece, and Katniss supposed that was how she had gotten the job. That was the only way she could think of as Glimmer was thicker than a demented cockroach.

\--

It wasn't that Clove was ungrateful to get the job opportunity, it's just that some of the people sounded horrible. Enobaria had told her all about the office and the people who worked there. 

Clove had lived with Enobaria since she was five. Her mom had died when she was three years old, and her father was an abusive alcoholic. As soon as Enobaria had got wind of what was happening she had charged dramatically down to Clove's house to take her away, and Clove had lived with Enobaria ever since. She hadn't ever met Cato, but apparently he was new to the company too. 

Clove was far from a social person, and it was really her best friend Rebecca who had talked her into the job.

'Come on, Clo, these chances don't come up everyday. Just give it a shot, I'm sure you'll love it.'

That was Bec, all optimism. But here she was. 

She ended up sitting with Cato at lunch. She had been sitting alone eating her delicious sandwich when he had come and sat with her. He didn't ask, just kind of.. sat down. Clove knew his type, the good looking guys who thought they could do anything they wanted. Not that Clove herself thought he was good looking, it was just an observation. Or... whatever.

\--

Cato had immediately noticed the other new person. She was the hottest, most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Her hair was so dark it was almost black, her eyes were so mesmerising he felt he could fall into them, and her face was so hauntingly beautiful. She had a look in her eyes that he hadn't ever really seen before. It screamed danger. And she was the kind of danger he wanted to get himself into. She he sat down. She didn't look up at all until he started talking, which in itself was a surprise. Normally girls couldn't wait to throw themselves at him. No matter, Cato liked a challenge.

'Hey.'

'Hi.'

They went silent after that, and surprisingly it was Clove who broke the silence.

'I'm Clove.'

'Cato.'

This wasn't going at all as he had planned. He racked his brain for something to say, anything to say, until he noticed something sticking out of Clove's jacket pocket.

'What is that?'

Clove gave him a smile that made his stomach get butterflies and opened her jacket, just slightly. Cato gaped once he saw what was in it. A knife, one you used for throwing. That's sexy as hell, he thought. 

'Wow. You throw knives?'

'Yeah. Why, too dangerous for you?'

Cato smirked. He already wanted to know more and more about this girl.

'On the contrary.'


	4. I call shotgun

He had started stealing her parking spot. She heaved a sigh of exasperation as she pulled into work and saw his obnoxious sports car sitting in 𝘩𝘦𝘳 private parking spot. True, it didn't have her name on it or anything stupid like that, but for the week that she had been at Company Panem Clove had always parked here. Everyone let her have the spot, it was just polite, and now the asshole had gone and stole it. Clove huffed, determined to confront him. She stormed up the stairs to his office and barged through. Annoyance and... disappointment? surged through her as she entered a very empty office, with only a few soft drink cans for company. She rolled her eyes. Of course a guy like Cato would never dream of keeping the office he shared with Brutus tidy. Not that Brutus cared; he was just as messy. 

Clove waited 10 minutes for Cato to arrive, her legs swinging off the desk as she sat on top of it. Finally he opened the door and darted back in surprise. Clove Kentwell on his desk at 8:30 in the morning wasn't a normal sight, although he wasn't exactly complaining, either. 

'May I help you?'

She scowled.

'Yes, as a matter of fact, you can.'

He stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate, and when she didn't he smirked and said:

'Well, if you just came in here to annoy me, then kindly get out. I'm very busy this morning.'

Clove scowled again, knowing Cato never did any more work than necessary. He was just trying to get on her nerves, and it was working.

'You stole my parking spot, Hadley. Everyone knows I park there.'

He feigned surprise as he looked at her.

'Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see your name on the parking spot, Clover.'

Ugh. The ridiculous nickname he used for her.

'Of course my name wasn't on there, you asshole. Its just common knowledge and courtesy. Now please move your car right now so I can park back in 𝘮𝘺 spot.'

'Uh, yeah, not gonna happen. Your cars safe, and I'm not moving mine. Now get out.'

And so their rivalry began. 

\--

Katniss rushed into the office later than usual. She had had to drop Prim off at school as her bus had come late and she had a violin lesson early that morning. She entered to everyone huddled around together. Katniss curiously approached the group and cleared her throat. Only Peeta looked up; the others were too busy directing something that was being passed around. Peeta moved over so she could enter the group and have a look at what was intriguing everyone so much, but that was becoming increasingly difficult as Glimmer was hogging what looked like a piece of paper and Clove was yelling at her. Peeta came to the rescue.

'Beetee has a secret admirer. He found this on his desk this morning and everyone's been trying to guess who it is ever since.'

His breath on her neck made goosebumps erupt on the soft, sensitive skin there and was enough to make her shiver. Peeta noticed and looked at her in concern.

'Are you cold? Would you like my jacket?'

Katniss shook her head but smiled at him. He was so unlike any guy she had ever met in her life. His face was so cute with its adorable concerned expression right now and she had a sudden urge to run her fingers through his blonde, silky hair. She was alarmed at these new feelings. When the fuck did she ever want to do that to any guy? Even when her and her best friend Gale dated back in high school she never thought of doing anything stupid like that. She had been at Company Panem 2 weeks and Peeta was already starting to make an impression of her. She was pulled out of her daydream when Peeta handed the note to her. It was short and very sweet:

'Beetee,  
You are amazing in every way. There is no one else like you.  
Xoxo, your secret admirer.'

There were squeals going around the room, but there were some people who looked less than impressed with this new development. Finnick thought it was amazing, after all, in his words: 'what's an office without an admirer?' but Johanna looked like she was going to throw up and Clove excused herself faster than anyone Katniss had ever seen. After a few moments she noticed Cato following her.

\--

It wasn't that Clove was necessarily uncomfortable with affection, but a secret admirer? Really? Anyway, she had wanted to go check out the gym. The company had its own next to the building. It was quite secluded, and it was clear it hadn't been used for some time. It had a lockable door but it was clear it hadn't been used for ages as it was rusty and hard to pull. When Clove tried it resisted her push, but in the end she won out with the consequence of a few spiders falling on top of her. She simply brushed them off impatiently. Spiders didn't scare her. Nothing did. She finally entered the building.

'Wow,' she whispered to herself. 

It was amazing. There were old exercise machines strewn around various corners of the room, mats covered the floor and there was a punching bag and boxing gloves to match. But Clove's favourite part was a painted target of mahogany wood in the very furthest corner to her. She gasped as she realised that there was a knife rack next to it. This had obviously been a knife throwing station. Clove's heart raced as she thought of all the amazing possibilities this room held for her. They were endless. She could spend break times in here, practise after work and even come here on weekends. It was her own special place. She heart the door creak and a grunt as someone pushed past it. Or not.

She groaned as she saw who it was who had followed her. Of course it had to be Cato, of all people. He was wearing his signature smirk as he sauntered in. Thank goodness he had at least come alone. 

'What do you want, Cato?'

'I just wanted to see where you had run off too, as an excuse to get out of there. Beetee's card was enough to make me sick.'

This surprised her. Cato seemed like the type of guy who would be all over that stuff. Maybe it ruined his macho facade.

'Huh. Would've thought you'd be into that stuff.'

He grimaced.

'No way. If I like a girl, I'll tell her upfront.'

He gave her a look and then proceeded to look around the room. What was that about?

Cato explored with the same face of longing and wonder as she had. When he noticed the boxing station he immediately ran to it and put on the gloves.

'Hey, check it out, they fit perfectly! This place is cool as.'

'So you box?'

'Yeah. Haven't for ages, though. It'll be nice to practise again.'

'Um, no way. I call bags, I found the room first.'

He scowled at her.

'No way, princess. I'm not giving up this room for anybody, especially you.'

They argued back and forth for a while until Clove gave in and they agreed to share the secret. And when they left, Clove swore they shared a smile and she left with more liking of Cato Hadley than before.

\--

Katniss groaned. She planned to go home early, but that was before Finnick had decided to spontaneously host a game night, right here in the office. Enobaria was sceptical, and Katniss hoped that she would change Finnick's mind, but she should have known that was a hopeless task. Once Finnick decided on something he never looked back and made sure that it was happening. So that's how Katniss ended up on the floor of Finnick's office in her fucking pajamas playing a game of monopoly at 12 am. Katniss had never played monopoly before, and after the roar of outrage from the others when she told them this Peeta had kindly offered to teach her how to play. Katniss felt the warm sensation form in her stomach whenever she was around Peeta, or whenever he talked to her. This sensation was becoming familiar. Somehow Gale had gotten wind of the invite and so he had barged in and decided to join them. Katniss groaned again.

\--

Madge tried to hide her excitement when she met Katniss' very hot best friend. He was gorgeous, with black hair, olive skin, toned arms and perfect abs. Holy shit, she was screwed. He decided to sit next to her to play monopoly. Fuck her life.

\--

Gale tried to stop himself from looking at the woman next to him, but it was very difficult. He never expected Madge Undersee to be so damn beautiful. Her blonde hair flowed in curls down over her shoulders and rested gently on her breast. Her skin was creamy like warm milk and she had the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes. He decided to sit next to her.

\--

Katniss decided there was no worse games to play than monopoly. Not that it wasn't fun, but it was extremely dangerous. Cato and Clove were two very competitive people and they were determined to beat each other in monopoly. It was like they were planning to fight to the death the way they were glaring at each other. Foxface had bought a notebook with her to games night and was intensely writing on it throughout the game in her clear, neat handwriting. Finnick was shouting and jumping up and down every time he got another property and Madge was surprisingly very competitive. Haymitch and Effie had of course been invited but Haymitch was drinking throughout it and Effie was yelling at everyone to calm down. So yeah, the start of games night was interesting, to say the least.

An hour later and monopoly was still going on. Glimmer had fallen asleep and spilt her hot chocolate all over the table, but every time Finnick yelled she woke up again, so Foxface kept running back and forth to bring her hot chocolate. Katniss won in a very surprising way as she somehow gained the most properties and had wiped everyone out of money. That was when Marvel suggested they play truth or dare, and Katniss went first.

She wanted to ask Peeta but didn't want to be too obvious so she asked Gloss instead.

'Gloss, truth or dare?'

'Truth.'

'Do you have any children?'

Gloss grinned and pointed to Glimmer who had once again fallen asleep on the coffee table.

'Yep, there's my little bundle of joy. Oy, Glims, wake up!'

Glimmer woke with a start and glared at Gloss.

'Dad, omg!'

Katniss didn't know about Gloss and Glimmer. She could see where Glimmer got her name now. With a name like Gloss you were bound to name your child something bad.

The game continued. Everyone asked dirty questions for truth and either dared someone to do something embarrassing or dirty too. Marvel asked Finnick how many girlfriends he had had and Finnick said he had had three girlfriends and one boyfriend before meeting Annie. The others thumped Finnick on the back when he came out, and Finnick blushed and held Annie's hand tightly. Gale dared Madge to let Katniss do her makeup blindfolded which ended in Madge having blue lipstick all over her face. 

Katniss had to admit the evening had been fun. She had grown closer to her colleagues (although they were more like friends now) and had attempted getting Gale to ask Madge on a date, which he hadn't done, but he had offered to drive her home, which was something. Madge had grinned at Katniss and hugged her. Katniss winked at her before shutting the door with a contented sigh.

Everyone went home yawning as it was now 4:30 am and they could see the sunrise coming into the winter sky. 

\--

Clove had decided to stay at the office. She wasn't tired, surprisingly, and she could do with breathing a bit. Cato and been getting on her nerves. She knew it was petty, but she loved annoying him. They would come into the office and be determined to do better work than the other. Cato would move her shoes just to get at her, and she would hide his USB sticks. Secretly Clove thought Cato was extremely attractive, and as much as he annoyed her he would also touch her. A lot. Nothing big, just small brushes on her arm while he walked past, their fingers touching while he purposely reached for the same item as her. It stirred her up and she didn't know whether to kiss him or kill him. And of course he stayed behind at the office too.

'Hey, Clover.'

'Are you sure you're not stalking me?'

He smirked at her.

'Would it bother you if I was?'

'Fuck off, Cato.'

'Language, Clover.'

She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and as much as she had tried to deny it and tried to ignore it, she wanted him. 

Clove could feel his eyes on her as she walked out of the room, and it didn't surprise her at all when she heard his footsteps follow her.

'I saw you looking at me today. And you seem to really hate Glimmer. Why might that be?'

He had hit a nerve. Clove didn't hate Glimmer, she despised her. She had flirted with Cato since arriving, and Clove hated it. 

'Yeah, I hate Glimmer. She's a whiny bitch. Not everything is to do with you, y'know, and I definitely wasn't looking at you today.'

'Shut up, Clovey.'

'Make me.'

As soon as she uttered those words she regretted them. Cato's moved slowly towards her until he had her trapped in between his body and the desk.

'With pleasure. I'm really horny, and you're really hot, so can we just fuck already?'

And then he was kissing her. Fuck, was he kissing her. His lips met hers in a hard, bruising claim, and she couldn't help but immediately respond. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer as he bit her bottom lip, hard. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and she gasped. Cato took advantage of her open mouth to slide his tongue in and around hers. He groaned deep in his throat and the sound went straight to Clove's core. Their tongues met, dueling fiercely as he backed her onto the desk. Knowing that Cato would be rough with her so much that she could have both pleasure and pain, blood and skin was the biggest turn on for Clove. She didn't want him to be gentle. She wanted it rough. She wanted him to let her know how much he hated her.

Clove jumped up and into Cato's arms, gripping his blonde hair and scraping her nails across his scalp. He nipped at her lip as she wound her legs around his waist. As soon as their hips pressed together and she felt him against her groin she moaned against his mouth. An electric wave of pleasure went straight down her back, arriving in the growing wetness between her legs. She ground against him and felt him immediately harden against her thigh. She smirked as he muttered 'couch' to her and threw her onto it. The soft surface hit her back as Cato climbed on top of her, kissing, biting and sucking her neck. He almost ripped her shirt off of her in his eagerness to get to her chest, and she pulled his own shirt over his head, running her fingers across his abs, feeling goosebumps erupt on his skin at her touch. She didn't want to slow down tonight, and she told him as much.

'Cato, fuck me. Fuck me hard, show me how much you hate me.'

He groaned at her seductive, wanton words and with that he took off her pajama pants. He rubbed her pearl roughly and she bucked up into his hand. She stroked him fiercely, but she didn't want foreplay, and neither did he. 

'Do it,' she urged him.

He smirked. 

'So impatient,' and with that he entered her in one forceful thrust.

Clove moaned and gripped his shoulders hard, digging her nails into his back as he fucked her roughly. 

'Faster,' she hissed at him through clenched teeth.

'He took no time in obeying, thrusting into her fast. 

'Clove..'

Cato moaning her name was the sexiest thing she had ever heard. He was close, she could tell by the way he was groaning. She was caught up in her own bliss before one final thrust pushed her over the edge.

\--

Cato kissed her roughly, deciding that was the best sex he had ever had in his life. Clove Kentwell was hauntingly beautiful, with her defined cheekbones, dark green eyes that held so many expressions and perfect figure. He wanted to get to know more about this mysterious vixen, but he was very glad this was how he started.


	5. Caught under the mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am so sorry that I've taken ages to update. I've been on holiday and haven't had any WiFi so I'm doing the Christmas chapter now. Hope you enjoy!

Katniss had had a lovely morning with Prim and her mother. She had celebrated Christmas with them where Prim had gifted her a wonderful goats cheese from her pet goat Lady. She had also generously picked wild berries to go with it and Katniss was beyond greatful. This was the first Christmas that Katniss could afford to buy presents for her mother and Prim. Now Katniss was headed to the office to spend the rest of the day with her co-worker's, although they were more like friends now. 

When Katniss entered the room the first thing she saw was Effie's decorations. Effie hadn't been joking when she said she would be up all night to prepare for the 'big, big, big day tomorrow!' 

The door was covered with tinsel and it had also been strung around the seats. It alternated between red and green and gold baubles covered the Roman pillars of the doorway. Effie had placed two extremely creepy looking elves and Katniss thought of all the long nights of Prim demanding she had an elf-on-the-shelf every Christmas since she was two. 

Katniss walked further into the main room and saw the tree in the corner. It hadn't been decorated yet and Katniss grinned as she thought of the fun activities planned for the day. They had only ever had a plastic tree before and Katniss had always been envious of her neighbour's wonderful big trees that always reminded her of long walks in the woods by her house.  
Next to the tree was the huge table that had been piled with delicious looking turkey and stuffing and plum sauce with roast vegetables among other things. Katniss felt her mouth flood with saliva at the scent that was wafting into her nostrils. She couldn't wait to start, but as she was always early she decided to sit down and wait for the others.

Effie walked into the room and embraced Katniss with a big smile and a warm 'merry Christmas!' and as much as Effie's obsessive ways and fake voice annoyed Katniss at other times she couldn't find it in herself to be angry at all. She knew Effie meant well and she had spent so much effort for Katniss' own enjoyment. 

Marvel had been next to arrive with a very loud 'ho ho ho, bitches!' And it didn't take long for everyone else to arrive; Katniss suspected that they were all anxious to see what had been prepared. There were many gasps that filled the room as her companions lay eyes on Effie's wonderful decorations and the table loaded with eatables. Peeta came over to wish her a merry Christmas, and oh lord, when he grasped her hand and gave her that beautiful smile Katniss swore she could have fallen through the floor. He motioned her to sit at the table and after grace everyone started to eat.  
Marvel wanted to pull crackers with everyone and he caught Katniss' eye with a big grin, holding out a cracker. She smiled back and took it, pulling as hard as she could. Her efforts were rewarded when the cracker burst with a loud bang and Katniss got a ridiculous orange paper hat and a joke that was as follows:

What does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney?  
Claustrophobia!

Everyone at the table groaned simultaneously at the joke which somehow seemed even worse than normal Christmas cracker jokes.

After a dinner and dessert that left Katniss' belly feeling like it was going to burst at the seams everyone headed for the tree. Rue was first in line, bouncing like a little grasshopper over to the huge pile of boxes that were filled with decorations. Surprisingly it was Clove who was most excited about decorating the tree. She informed everyone that he dad never bothered to get a real tree and she didn't even have a plastic one at home. Cato looked at her and grabbed her hand so quickly that Katniss wasn't even sure she had seen correctly. She only knew she had when Clove blushed and turned away, giving Cato's hand a squeeze while keeping her eyes on the ground.

The decorating was going tremendously well. Katniss didn't know if she had ever had so much fun. Rue was given the important task of placing the Christmas angel at the top of the tree. She bounced forward as Thresh gave her an affectionate smile. Katniss knew Thresh and Rue were brother and sister. She knew Thresh admired her; she could tell because of the way he looked at her. It was exactly the same way as she looked at Prim.

Rue was too small to reach the top of the tree by herself so Thresh lifted her up as she giggled and placed the angel on top. Eveyrone cheered after she had completed that task and Rue gave a little giggle and a curtsey.  
Clove was finding it very hard to reach the top as well and it was only when she tripped into the tree and shattered one of Effie's favourite decorations that Cato smirked and mimicked Thresh's motion. He grasped Clove's waist tightly as he lifted her onto his shoulders and that was how she stayed for the rest of the decorating. 

Marvel had managed to get himself covered head to toe in the Christmas lights. Everyone roared at the sight of poor Marvel staggering around the tree in lights. Clove turned them on and Katniss doubled over in laughter when Marvel lit up in greens and reds and yellows. Johanna grabbed her polaroid camera in glee and took a picture. She said she was making a 'fail wall' in the office. The apparent purpose of that was that whenever anyone captured a photo of anyone else being stupid, or doing something silly or having an accidental fail then they had to print it out and stick it on her fail wall. Marvel looked most displeased.

\--

When Marvel had finally gotten himself untangled he suggested that they go outside to watch the snow. Everyone agreed and was having an amazing time until Enobaria had decided to make a snowball and see how far she could throw it. Leaning back with her arm over her shoulder she took in a deep breathe before throwing it as far as she could. Unfortunately for Enobaria, Johanna happened to be walking around the corner at that very moment and before anyone could say or do anything the huge snowball had landed smack bang in Johanna's face, making her drop her eggnog all over the footpath.

There was a deeply unpleasant silence.

Johanna got up looking absolutely wild with anger. Her eyes had taken on an almost red colour and she was gesturing wildly around while yelling:

'Who did that?! Who the fuck was it?! When I found out who did this-'

Katniss was torn between amusement and fear and Finnick must have been feeling a bit the same because behind her Katniss heard him whisper to Annie:

'Oh no, here we go.'

Everyone had stepped back leaving a very bemused Enobaria at the front of Johanna's harsh gaze. Johanna grabbed a hunk of snow and Enobaria must have seen what was coming because she started saying:

'Oh no no no no no. Please no, Johanna, this is a new coat.'

But before she had finished her sentence a snowball had hit her in the stomach.

Enobaria made a sound between a groan and a hiss and before Katniss could see what was happening everyone was fighting. Clove and Johanna seemed to be taking this much too seriously; Johanna was on top of Enobaria trying to smash her face in and Clove and Cato seemed to be engaged in a heavy battle of their own, but honestly, if they thought they were being secret about their obvious attraction to each other, they really weren't. Clove was on top of Cato in the snow with a dangerous look in her eyes. He matched her look with one of his own, a lustfilled gaze that made Katniss deeply uncomfortable and left her wondering if Clove had ever been on top of him before. Ew, gross. Katniss shook herself and went to look for a place to hide, away from Clove and Johanna.

Katniss ran to find shelter behind a wall a little way away from everyone else. She ran into the baronial barrier and straight into another body.

'Oof!'

Shit.

Of course it had to be him, of all people.

Peeta Mellark grabbed her waist before she could fall over onto the dilapidated floor.

'Had the same idea?'

His voice was smooth and rich and gave her shivers all down her spine.

'Yeah. I thought it would be smart to get out of Johanna's line of fire.'

'I think she's pretty preoccupied with Enobaria right now.'

They shared a laugh and Katniss decided his laugh was definitely something she could get used to. It was sweet and even if it wasn't directed at her gave her a warm feeling all the way from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

They listened intently to any clues about the whereabouts of their opponents for around an hour without saying much to one another. The silence was a comfortable one. Katniss was a thinker, not a talker, but sometimes, even with her introverted nature, even sometimes with her best friend Gale, silence was uncomfortable. Interestingly, even though she hadn't known him long, Peeta didn't fit into that category. This silence seemed to wrap around her like a hug, a profound silence only partly filled with Peeta's sighs. She seemed to move closer to him in those moments until she softly bumped into him and gasped. He leaned closer to her and whispered:

'Are you cold? I sure am. You should kiss me before I get frostbite.' and Katniss barely had time to blush. Her body seemed to move of its own accord. She leaned into him and they met in the middle, their lips meeting in a shy embrace. The kiss was soft and tender, and Katniss felt a warm heat spreading throughout her body. She wrapped her arms around Peeta's neck to pull him impossibly closer just as he grabbed her waist. They broke apart after a few glorious minutes, and Katniss felt immediate, unsettling cold as soon as he let her go. What was he doing to her? She smiled shyly up at him as he grinned back at her.

'I'm much warmer now.'

And she laughed, hugging him again because she could, because he made her feel safe and warm and alive. After several minutes they let each other go reluctantly. Just in time too, because Rue came into their haven at that very moment.

'There you two are. I've been looking for you everywhere. Don't worry, it's safe to come out now. We're all going inside for hot chocolate and Christmas carols.'

She looked at them intensely and a small smirk crossed her face. Katniss got an uncomfortable feeling that she suspected something and she broke the silence.

'Thanks for coming to get us Rue. Sorry we kept you waiting, hot chocolate sounds delicious. Just coming now.'

The smaller women sped on ahead as Peeta grabbed Katniss' hand and squeezed it gently.

\--

They gathered around the couch with warm mugs of hot chocolate as they all tried to find the cheesiest Christmas carols they could find. Johanna took a sip of her hot chocolate and made a face.

'Don't tell me you don't like hot chocolate,' Katniss asked in shock.

'Oh no, I do. But I tend to have mine a little differently.'

Katniss looked on at her friend curiously as she started rummaging through her handbag for something. She gave a triumphant 'haha!' and to everyone's surprise pulled out a small bottle of vodka. Katniss didn't know what she was up to but with Johanna it was best not to ask. She lay back in her armchair and waited for Johanna to reveal her grand plan.  
Johanna opened the small cap with a pop and poured some vodka into her hot chocolate. Cries of disbelief went around the room and Finnick burst out: 'you can't put alcohol in hot chocolate!'

Johanna took a sip and sighed in contentment and Finnick and Katniss exchanged incredulous looks. Who knows the ways of Johanna Mason.

Marvel won the Christmas carol competition when he found a parody of Jingle Bells called dirty jingle bells about sucking dick. After a very awkward and uncomfortable three minutes the song ended and everyone in the room looked at each other before they simultaneously burst out laughing. Katniss couldn't stop. The combination of it being Christmas, and her kiss with Peeta and just being here with all her friends made her so happy she almost couldn't stand it. 

In the middle of their fourth Christmas carol Marvel got up to dance pulling a very frustrated Clove with him. Apparently Clove decided she would not, under any circumstances be dancing alone and she brought Cato with her. Soon everyone in the room was dancing to the beat of the most ridiculous Christmas carol ever written: 'I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause', and Katniss allowed her troubles to wash over her in waves, allowing a calm sea to emerge.

After carols Annie got everyone to sit down. She said shyly that she had a surprise to share with them all, and held out an enormous bag. She said she had spent months knitting everyone special non-ugly Christmas sweaters and that even though some of them had come late she had still managed to cater for everyone. That explained a lot, Katniss thought. Annie had spent a lot of extra time in the office and hadn't let anyone, not even her fiance Finnick come in. Katniss hadn't thought that much of it at the time, she liked her own space too, but she had to admit there had been an ounce of curiosity. 

Annie passed around the bag for everyone to grab their sweaters out of. They each had the first letter of their name knitted on it. Katniss' was a deep jade green, her favourite colour, and had a big K in the centre. She was infinitely touched by the shy girl's kind gesture, and felt immediate guilt that she hadn't gotten Annie a Christmas present. When she expressed this to Annie, however, she said Katniss was being silly and that all that mattered to her was that Katniss liked her gift. Katniss didn't speak, just gave Annie a massive hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
\--

This was by far the best Christmas Clove had ever had. Nothing had gone wrong except when she had had to be lifted up by Cato to place the decorations on the Christmas tree, and she didn't consider Cato's hands stroking her curves to be something wrong. What happened next, however, definitely was. She had been walking around the room, minding her own business when suddenly Marvel had knocked her over while carrying a tray of food. She had lost her footing and had gone flying into a corner when strong hands lifted her back up. She turned around although she already knew who it was and saw her worst nightmare hanging offensively above her in a mocking way: mistletoe. 

Great.

Caught under mistletoe with Cato Hadley. She had tried to downplay it and pretend she hadn't seen it but Marvel saw right through her, and with a hoot of triumph announced to everyone that they had to see this. She owed Enobaria one, though. She had stepped in and firmly stated to Marvel that Cato and Clove having to kiss was enough and that if she saw anyone watching them she would make sure they had enough work to last them until next Christmas. Clove had never seen a group of people scatter so fast.

She looked over at Cato and was surprised at the intensity of his heavy gaze. He didn't say anything to her, just leaned down and captured her mouth in a searing kiss. She couldn't help responding, her arms immediately winding around his neck as his strong arms ensnared her. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she moaned softly, allowing him entrance. His tongue entered her mouth and explored. They had only ever had one kiss before, and it had been rushed and animalistic. This kiss was gentler but still equally passionate. As soon as their tongues met Cato groaned, grabbing Clove's hips, encouraging her to grind against him. She could feel his arousal through their items of clothing and it was almost driving her mad. Then after what seemed like a lifetime they broke apart, both breathing heavily. Cato allowed his gaze to wander and his eyes landed on Clove's chest going up and down, up and down every time she inhaled a breathe. 

Clove admired Cato's strong build. She still felt the sensation of Cato's abs pressed up against her and she met his eye. She smirked at him as she saw his gaze lift from her chest and realised he had also been checking her out. The tension in the room was almost unbearable, so when Cato asked her 'wanna get out of here?' she had no hesitation whatsoever in grabbing his hand and almost running out the door. In fact, they were in such a rush to go that they hadn't noticed the empty room, a sure sign that everyone else had scattered. 

\--

Effie had been a little disappointed but not surprised when Haymitch had said he had absolutely no intention of attending the office Christmas party. She had hoped he would join them but didn't exactly expect it either; she knew Haymitch rarely celebrated Christmas and when he did it was alone and away from crowds. But she wasn't about to let him get blind drunk on Christmas either, so she decided determinedly to walk to his house. Effie made it her business to know everything about everyone so of course she had Haymitch's address. 

When she arrived at his house she shook off doubts and walked confidently down the little stone path. She wrapped on the door with a little more force than needed; she pegged that down to nerves, but wasn't sure what she had to be nervous about, either. Haymitch opened the door and his mouth fell open at the sight of Effie at his doorstep on Christmas.

'Trinket? What the hell are you doing here?'

She pursed her lips. 'Manners, Haymitch. I simply thought you might want some company on Christmas. May I come in?'

Knowing there was no getting rid of her Haymitch opened the door to allow her entrance. She walked into the small living room, waiting for him to tell her she was allowed to sit. He motioned to one of the seats and was about to sit down himself when she asked:

'May I have a glass of wine?'

He didn't say anything, just went out the room again and returned with two wine glasses and a big bottle of red. Setting the glasses down he poured the wine into both glasses and gave one to her. She was surprised but pleased by this and told him as much.

'You're quite the gentleman tonight, Haymitch.'

She swore a tiny smile pulled at his lips.

'Well, just thought I may as well do the thing properly. It is Christmas, after all.'

She smiled at him, finding herself pleasantly surprised by them talking without sarcasm or trying to rip each other's throats out. 

She picked up her glass.

'Merry Christmas.'

He picked up his own and smiled at her.

'Merry Christmas, sweetheart.'

They clinked their glasses together and sat in a comfortable silence for a time while they sipped the wine.

'So... I've been curious about something. Why haven't you celebrated Christmas before? Did you when you were a boy?'

Haymitch wasn't sure why he answered, normally if someone asked him personal questions like that he would tell them to get fucked.

'Well... I mean, y'know, money was tight when I was growing up, my mum worked two jobs and stuff, so Christmas was kinda the last thing on our minds. Sometimes she gave us presents but usually my parents just encouraged us to think about it as a special day. I grew accustomed to knowing I wasn't gonna get anything for Christmas. And then, y'know, my mum passed away from cancer and trust me, we were more tryna avoid dad's belt than expect Christmas presents from him.'

Effie felt tears pull at her eyelids. She knew he had had a rough past but she never knew that his father was abusive. She didn't know his mother had died, either. And before Effie knew what she was doing she had leant forward, capturing his mouth in a gentle kiss.

He responded to her and wrapped his arms around her. The kiss was nice, just really soothing and calm. She pulled her lips away from his for a moment to kiss both his cheeks.

'I'm so sorry,' she whispered in his ear, hearing her own voice sounding foreign and choked up with emotion and tears. He didn't respond, simply pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into him. When she stopped crying she kissed him again, and this time neither of them pulled away. She vaguely remembered him carrying her upstairs to set her down on the bed but the rest was a blur as she allowed him to rock her into oblivion.


	6. Why not move forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A requested chapter, guys! This is all about Glimmer's past and what happened to her mother.  
> You do not have to read this chapter to enjoy the story but it is highly recommended as it will help you understand some of the characters a lot better.

Glimmer's heels clinked on the linoleum floor as she walked into the office. She didn't want to be there but Gloss had insisted that she needed to be with her friends today. Throwing her car keys into her bag she entered the big office where their Thursday meetings were always held. As always, Enobaria entered the room at exactly 8:35 am and began to speak once everyone was seated, which was taking an extraordinarily long time, and all because of Marvel. Glimmer looked over at him in astonishment as he dragged what looked like a huge stress ball into the room. Enobaria stopped talking at once.

'Marvel... what on earth is 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?'

Giggles went around the room at Enobaria's surprised and exasperated tone. Glimmer noticed that most of the giggles were coming from their newest recruit, a petite 19-year-old girl called Rue, who was a junior assistant. Her brother Thresh poked her to try and get her quiet while muffling his own laughter, but this seemed to have the opposite effect because Rue burst into full out cackling. Glimmer noticed Katniss was looking at Rue with almost a fond expression, and she guessed this was because Rue reminded her of her sister, Primrose. Glimmer hadn't ever met Primrose Everdeen but she wanted to. The way Katniss talked about her it was like the sun shone out of her sister.

Marvel didn't seem embarrassed that he had caused all this commotion; quite the opposite, in fact. He grinned round at his co-worker's and Enobaria who was trying to look stern but failing miserably as her mouth had turned slightly upwards and she was no longer folding her arms.

'This is my beanbag,' he stated proudly.

Peeta must have noticed that Rue was about to start laughing again because he quickly said, 

'Why on earth would you bring a beanbag to the office?'

'I thought it made me look more approachable!'

'It makes you look like an idiot,' Katniss retorted.

Enobaria sharply tapped on the table with her notepad.

'Right, that's enough beanbag talk. We have some very important items to discuss, so listen up.'

And so the meeting commenced.

Glimmer tried her hardest to pay attention, but without the distractions of earlier she was finding it very difficult to. Everyone was taking notes and Glimmer picked up her pen and tried to do the same but she found her mind was wandering too much, and eventually she burst into tears. Right there at the table.

Enobaria stopped talking and stared at Glimmer in alarm. What was wrong with her employers today? Normally they were excellent workers. But she didn't want to be rude, even though she was nowhere near equipped to deal with these situations as Clove never cried. Enobaria got some tissues as everyone else sat there awkwardly for a second before making eye contact and rushing off to get one thing or another.

While Annie and Finnick immediately went to Glimmer's side, Marvel whipped her out of her own chair and practically threw her on his beanbag. He solemnly went to Glimmer's chair to sit down as if he was making the biggest sacrifice in the world. Katniss was standing in the corner awkwardly as Peeta half hugged her and went to get Glimmer some water. Brutus from security came in and threw chocolate to Glimmer, whacking her in the face. Enobaria yelled at him and ushered him out of the room quickly saying that he wasn't helping at all and get back to work and what not. Clove was on her phone not giving two fucks while no one even knew where Cato was. Meanwhile, Effie was giving instructions to everyone while she whispered something to Enobaria. Whatever it was, Enobaria was having none of it. She heaved a huge sigh and told Effie to deal with everyone while she walked straight out of the room.

Effie turned to everyone and in her most soothing voice said they were doing a 'therapy circle'. Haymitch tried to sneak out of the room to join Enobaria but Effie wouldn't have it and said that he had to stay here.

So that's how they ended up in a circle on the floor like 5-year-olds.

Annie put her arm around Glimmer and gently asked her what was wrong. Finnick leaned over to Effie and whispered:

'Annie's really good at this. I notice it all the time. Like with the horses and stuff, 'cause Annie's an equestrian, like they always listen to her. And when they're upset she always calms them down.'

Although Effie nodded at this she privately thought that it was rather rude of Finnick to compare Glimmer to a horse. Although, she mused, looking over at Annie, Finnick was right. Glimmer didn't look tense anymore and her breathing was slowly going back to normal.

Glimmer looked up at everyone and said quietly:

'Sorry about disrupting the meeting, guys. It's just that...'

Her eyes filled with tears again as Annie squeezed her shoulder.

'This is the anniversary of my mom's death.'

There was an uncomfortable silence that was eventually broken by Marvel.

'Aw, Glims I'm so sorry! None of us had any idea. If it helps, I don't have a mom either. She walked out on my dad and me when I was really little, like three or something. I know it's not exactly the same, but I know what you're going through.'

Glimmer looked over at him and gave him a watery smile.

'Thanks, Marvel. It's good to know that I'm not alone.'

'Would it help to talk about it? I find that really helps with me, Finnick's such a good listener and so kind. I'm sure it would help you to talk about it. Is your dad here?'

'No, he's not, he's doing construction right now, but it might be good to talk about it. Let me take you guys back to the beginning...'

\--

𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 

'𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺! 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰- 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦.

Glimmer wiped her eyes.

'That's my favourite memory of me and mom. I remember her next words vividly. She looked at me and said: 'Glims, darling, I know you're excited, but you don't need to worry. This birthday is going to be the best in the world for my little girl.' 

Everyone was listening intently.

'Thats the kind of person she was. She was a devoted wife, and a devoted mother. She wanted everything in the house to be wonderful and special. She was a baker too, Peeta.'

Peeta smiled.

'She sounds like she was so special, Glimmer.'

'She was. I know that it's selfish; I had a better family life than most people, and I still do. But I can't help wishing we had more time. I love dad, but the family's never been the same since mom died. I wish you guys could have known her.'

Annie squeezed her hand.

'I wish I'd known her too. Sounds like she would get on well with my grandma. I live with her now. I lost both my parents in a car accident when I was four.'

'Jeez! Sounds like tragedy's all over this place!' said Clove.

'I mean.. I guess you're right, Clove. But we have a family here, don't we? You guys are my family.' announced Rue.

Peeta smiled.

'We certainly do.'

\--

Gloss wished that he could see Glimmer today, but he was so busy with work that just wasn't possible. In fact, they had so much work to do that Brutus from security had come down to assist them. Gloss couldn't complain about the workload, though. At least it was keeping him busy from his thoughts. Today was a day of mixed emotions for Gloss. The day he lost his wife.

He knew he had loved her, but in what way he didn't know. He hadn't anyone to share his thoughts with except his sister Cashmere, and that was seldom. Anyway, he didn't feel comfortable sharing this with even her. As he was working he was also thinking, thinking of things from a long time ago...

“𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘺𝘮, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘎𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 “𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥.”

Needless to say, the search hadn't worked. The bar was set high. Sapphire had been the most incredible mother in the world. She made Glimmer's world a better place just by existing. She was kind and it was clear that Glimmer and Gloss meant the world to her. Gloss always felt a pang of guilt when he thought about this. He knew he had loved Sapphire, but in what way he couldn't tell. 

Gloss had been a teen dad, and it felt like the right thing to do for him to marry the mother of his child. He still remembered their wedding day. Sapphire had been glowing, her blonde hair down up high with just a few tendrils let loose to shape her face. The sun had been on her that day and made her have a halo. He couldn't deny she was beautiful, and other guys were constantly commenting on how lucky he was.

Then why didn't he feel lucky? What was wrong with him?

It had taken many years for Gloss to accept himself. Glimmer was eight when he had come out to Cashmere, and he had come out to Glimmer when she was sixteen. He didn't want her to feel betrayed but Glimmer constantly reassured him that she didn't feel betrayed at all, that he was a loving father and that was that. 

And they were a happy family. Gloss still remembered holding Glimmer for the first time, and even though he was so young, he suddenly knew exactly what he wanted for his baby girl, including the name.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.

𝘎𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭.


	7. Here's to the rest of my life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go to my country!

If Katniss had learned anything from working at Company Panem it was that she should never be surprised by anything. But, come on, she thought, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 would be surprised if their CEO had just told them that the whole company had to go on some fifteen hour flight to goddamn Australia for an important 'conference press' meeting. Apparehtly the company was getting so big and well-known under Enobaria's influence that some important people from Melbourne wanted to meet with them. Katniss had never seen Enobaria so excited and proud before, and it gave her a warm feeling to know that she had contributed, even the tiniest little bit to Company Panem's success.

'As always, I expect you give the people we're meeting in Australia your full time and utmost attention,' said Enobaria sternly, her eyes landing on Finnick briefly before resuming her gaze to the peach coloured back wall.

'Last time we went on a trip; this was before Katniss, Peeta, Clove, Cato, Marvel and Glimmer had arrived; there were some unfortunate incidents with a prank kit and a huge bowl of slime that I'd prefer not to repeat.'

At this Finnick and his best friend Johanna Mason burst out laughing and turned to each other like they were remembering fondly a memory from another time. Katniss decided she agreed with Enobaria's decision not to tell them about the 'unfortunate incident' as she wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

'Right: Rules and Regulations.'

At everyone's simultaneous groaning Enobaria laughed.

'Don't worry, I believe that we are all mature enough in this room to know proper ways to behave in public. And if any of you don't, I have a return ticket all ready for you and you will be sent back to Washington before you can say 'stop'. I am not messing around with this. This is a huge honour and opportunity not only for me, but for each and every one of you as well. I hope you will use it wisely.'

After Enobaria exited the room the volume grew steadily louder until there was a full conservation going on. Katniss turned to Clove.

'Wow. I've never even been out of the state before and this gets sprung on me? It's not that I'm not excited, it's just that I'm nervous about leaving my mother and Prim. Especially Prim.'

'You only live once, Everdeen. What's the problem? Your mother will be fine with Prim. And she's a big girl, she's nineteen now, isn't she? Enjoy it.' 

While it was obvious Clove was listening it was also obvious to Katniss that her attention was given elsewhere. She was staring over in the direction of Cato, who at this moment was talking to Marvel and laughing. Katniss felt Clove shiver next to her and looked over.

'Are you ok?'

Clove looked up, clearly still not paying attention.

'Huh?'

'You shivered. Are you cold or something? You were looking over at Cato and then I felt you shiver.'

Clove's cheeks turned a bright pink and she quickly looked down.

'Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a bit chilly in here, that's all.'

And she walked away.

Katniss laughed inwardly. She knew Clove was lying, because not only was it like 85 degrees in the small, insulated room, but also because she had never in her life heard Clove say 'chilly'. In fact, she was pretty positive no one in the office spoke like that except for Effie, and Katniss hadn't seen the woman all morning.

Still, she had absolutely no fucking idea what was going on with Cato and Clove.

Katniss was a people watcher, in fact, she was a pro people watcher, and she knew she wasn't the only one watching Cato and Clove. Marvel seemed to have it as his main hobby. He had even taken to following them around the office with binoculars, and sometimes, when she was feeling like a laugh and not too busy with work, Foxface would trail after him, occasionally sharing the binoculars and a lot more than occasionally taking notes on her whiteboard she carried everywhere. But Katniss was confused. Cato and Clove were the most competitive people she had ever met in her life, and their favourite people to compete against were each other. Whether it was something important like vying for the same promotion or whether it was something like beating each other in mariocart, they didn't care that much about other people beating them. As long as they didn't lose against each other they were happy.

And then there were times where after a long day Cato would lie down on the communal couch and pull Clove on top of him when they thought no one was looking. Or their hands would brush when they gave each other things and they would flush and pull apart quickly, their eyes darting around to see if anyone had seen their exchange. Most people in their department where very good at everting their eyes and pretending not to have seen anything, but, Katniss thought with a laugh, there were people who most certainly needed to work on their Clato skills.

*cough Marvel cough Finnick*

Whenever something would happen with Clato in front of either Marvel or Finnick they would look away and start talking very loudly to the person next to them.

\--

Katniss walked up the small stone path to her tiny house to tell her mother and Prim the news. She entered the house and threw her bag in the middle of the table, immediately going to hug Prim tightly. 

'Hey, little duck. How was school?'

'It was great! Did you meet Rue today? She got a job at your company, did you meet her? How cool is she?'

Katniss grinned, thinking of the quirky girl who was new to Company Panem and had already added so much. 

'Yeah, she's great! I really like her, Prim. You guys are so similar.'

Prim beamed as her mother poked her head out of the pantry.

'Hello, dear. How are you?'

'I'm good, but I...I have to tell you guys something.'

'What is it, honey? You sound worried.'

'I have to go to Australia for three months,' Katniss blurted.

There was a deep silence and Katniss suddenly felt claustrophobic in the kitchen.

It was her mother who broke the silence first.

'Oh. Is this for work?'

'Yeah.'

'But that's so long! How will we survive without you?' Burst out Prim.

Katniss' heart immediately felt like it was shattering. She was dreading leaving Prim alone with her mother. 

Katniss' father had died when Katniss was nineteen and Prim fifteen. It had been a work accident, and it shook the whole family to their core. While it had obviously deeply affected Katniss and Prim it had affected their mother more. While Katniss understood that life had to go on and that she couldn't afford to take time off school, her mother had gone into her shell. 

With no money and a little sister to support Katniss had had to quit university in order to get two jobs to make ends meet, but the ends hadn't been meeting. Her mother's nursing job had hardly paid enough for rent and there were moments where they went to bed with their stomachs rumbling. 

So when her mother didn't show up for work Katniss had made up some excuse. She couldn't have people knowing about her mother's condition because she didn't want Prim to be put in fostering. She imagined sweet, tiny Prim in a community home and her mind had been made up.

It had taken a whole year of hunger and pain and hardship for her mother to come back to them, come back out of her glassy stares and unmoving body.

Prim had been thrilled to have her back but Katniss had been so angry for a while that she hadn't allowed her mother to do anything for her. She was still trying to get over the betrayal.

Katniss met her mother's eye from across the small room.

'You can't leave again.'

Mrs Everdeen's eyes met the floor.

'I couldn't help it... I'

Katniss felt her temper rising.

'Well, you have to help it this time. I won't be there to help Prim, you're the only one she'll have.'

It was only when her mother removed Katniss' hand from her upper arm that she realised she had been holding on as tight as she can.

'I was ill. I could have cured myself if I had enough money back then to afford the medicine. I was diagnosed with PTSD and depression after your father died.'

Mrs Everdeen stepped closer.

'I would like to be your mother again, Katniss. I want to see you grow. You're such a beautiful, lovely, talented and inspirational woman. I love you with all my heart.'

Katniss couldn't stop the tears and enveloped her tiny mother in her arms.

'I love you too, mum. I want you to be in my life. I want us to grow as a family.'

Her mother hugged her back.

'You'll never have to go through that ever again. I promise."

Katniss knew that that was a promise that she couldn't keep. Mental illness was not in her mother's control, Katniss could see that now. And if she could promise her mother anything, it would be that she would never have to go through it alone again.

\--

Effie, being Effie, had rented out limos for the drive to the airport. 2 shiny black ones lined the office parking lot, and everyone was rushing out the door. Some people had packed lightly, others had packed a normal amount of stuff. Then there was Glimmer. She was struggling down the stairs with 3 suitcases and a night bag. 

Clove's eyes were wide with surprise and her mouth was agape.

'What the hell is all that crap?'

Glimmer pursed her lips.

'That is my Gucci bag and my Louis Vuitton suitcases. I needed two for clothes and a separate one for shoes and handbags, although I don't expect 𝘺𝘰𝘶 to understand that.'

Clove looked at Glimmer with narrow eyes.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Glimmer looked her up and down, from Clove's ripped denim shorts to her cropped black top.

'It means that you obviously don't understand fashion like I do.'

Before Clove could get even one cutting remark in Cato had stepped up and put an arm around Clove's shoulder protectively.

'Hey! I happen to like the way Clove dresses, for your information. Not everyone likes what you like Glimmer, and I for one am very greatful for it.'

At this Glimmer flipped her hair and flounced away into a limo. Cato and Clove took the other one and Katniss decided to follow them. She didn't need any drama on the way to Australia, thank you very much.

\--

Clove decided she would much prefer Hell over her current situation. Hell was a completely different reality, a reality filled with pain. Pain Clove could handle easily. This kind of torture was on a whole other level.

She was packed in a limo and although it was very spacious it wasn't at all private. And she needed privacy to rip Cato's shirt off and ravage him senseless, which was exactly what she wanted to do right now. She hadn't given two fucks about what Glimmer had said, but it was still nice to hear Cato stand up for her. She felt he had chosen her over Glimmer, which was stupid of course, they weren't even dating, but still...

Clove shook her head and looked out of the window at the passing fields. She had no time for thoughts of this nature. But as soon as she had shaken them out of her head she felt a hand on her leg. Clove looked over sharply at Cato to ask him what the fuck he was doing but he was staring away from her, apparently transfixed by the limousine door. She glared. She did so not need this right now. But then Cato's hand moved further up her leg in a teasing way. Clove looked around the limo anxiously to see if anyone was watching but they were all drinking champagne and talking, completely oblivious to what was going on.

It continued like that for the entire 1 hour and 30 minute car ride to the airport. Sometimes Cato's hand would stay quite low on her leg, but other times he stroked it up further, just short of the place she really wanted him to reach currently... 

But of course the asshole never touched her there.

Sometimes he moved so close to that destination that Clove had to bite back a moan that was rising in her throat. 

And finally they arrived.

Cato left the limo immediately after it had parked so that Clove couldn't reach him. Oh boy was she going to kill him when they got to Australia.


End file.
